Electrically-operated boor



S. ELLIOTT.

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-7.1916.

1,826,130. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

I 3 SHEETSSHEET I.

S. ELLIOTT.

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-7.1916.

1,326,130. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S. ELLIOTT.

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.7.19I6.

1,326,130. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

fry/4. g

1?: ven70i.

STERLING-EL IOTT, or NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

"ELEGTRICALLY-OPERATED DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 23, 1919,

Application filed Au'ush'i, 1916. Serial No. 113,555.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STERLING ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newton, in; the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Electrically-OperatedDoors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to door-operating mechanism arranged forelectrical control, by which a door, or a pair of doors may bepositively opened and closed, and governed from one or more distantpoints.

The door-operating mechanism of the present invention is adapted forgeneral use and application in those places where it is desir able tohave the door or doors arranged to i be automatically opened and closed,with the control of the automatic means adapted to be governed from oneor more remote points.

In the present embodnnent of my invention the door-operating mechanismis de-- signed, when operated, to open the door or doors in case theyare closed, or to close the door or doors in case they are open. Thedoor-operating mechanism has an electricmotor, as a motive power, andthe circuit of said motor is adapted to be controlled at a plurality ofdifferent points, as-for instance, there may be a controller for thecircuit of the motor arranged in the garage; another circuit controllerarranged adjacent thg an another circuit-controller arranged in theresidence-bf the garage owner; and closure of any circuit-controllerwill cause the motor to operate.

The operating-mechanism is such that upon closure of anycircuit-controller and consequent operation of the motor, the doors willbe moved from the position they occupy to the other position, and thenext succeeding closure of any circuit-controller will move them in theopposite direction or return them.

The motor circuit also 'has 'a switch adapted for automatic operation bythe motor, by which to open the circuit at the,

end of a predetermined movement orcycle of operation of theoperating-mechanism, to stop the motor when the doors have been moved toeither opened or closed position, as

the case may be.

The invent on 1s also designed to provide a means whereby themotor-operated mechanism may be temporarily disconnected from the dooror doors, to permit the'la'tter to be Opened and closed by hand in theusual man- I ner, when such operation is desired, as in the event of theautomatic mechanism becoming inoperative from any cause.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatical view illustrating in planthe door-operating mecha nism, actuating-means therefor,'andcontrolling-means for said actuating-means.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the motor and mechanical cooperating parts.

Fig. 3 is a, section on the line. 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 41 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a broken detail in elevation showing the connection on theoperating-rod with the motor-driven element.

Fig. 6 is a plan ofthe motor-driven element or gear illustrating theautomatic switch.

Fig. 7 is a detail in elevation illustrating the connecting circuitcontact arms for the motor switch.

Fig. 8 is a plan showing the mechanically operated parts of thestructure in connected relation.

Fig. 9 is a View in elevation and partly in section, showing one of thedoor-carrying members of the actuating-mechanism.

Fig. 10 is a view in elevation, partly in section, illustrating themeans for permitting temporary disconnection of a" door operator fromthe door to allow ordinary hand operation of the door.

Fig. 11 is a vertical section illustrating the connection between thekey-controller hand-turning member and the pivot-rod of thedisconnecting means.

Fig. 12 is a similar View showing the same means for the opposing orother door.

Fig. 13 is a vertical transverse section illustratingilthe locking meansfor the key-' In the embodiment of my invention, as here.

shown, 20 and 21 represent a pair of swinging doors for closing aprivate garage, or the like, said doors being mounted for swingingmovement on hinges 22, see Figs. 1 and 8. These doors are, or may be,provided with half round rubber strips 23 at their meeting edges.

The door operators are arranged at the inside of the doors, usually atthe top, and in case two doors are employed said operators are, or maybe, of duplicate construction. 96, 96, represent the pivot shafts forthe door operators, which are supported in bearings borne by the twoarms of a bracket 97 fixed to an appropriate support immediately aboveand adjacent the meeting edges of the doors.

The door operators, as here shown, each comprise a toothed sector 98,and a skeletonlike frame bolted thereto, which frame includes a pair ofbars 99, extended convergently from. the sectors, and connected at theirextremities by a plate 100, and means preferably adjustable connectingthe connected extremities of the bars 99 with the door, such meanscomprising a tubular rod 110, one end of which is connected by auniversal joint 111, with a pivot-pin 113, extended through the plate100, and the other end of which slidably receives the stem of' ahinge-connector 114:, which is arranged on the pintle 115, of ahinge-member 116, which is secured to the door.

The sectors 98, 98, of the door operators are arranged in substantiallythe same horizontal plane and mesh witheach other, so

' that their movements are alike, and movement of either will effect acorresponding movement of the other, resulting in swinging the doorsalike, in both directions. The extent of swinging movement of the doorsmay be adjusted by adjusting the relative positions of the sliding stemsof the hinge- 114, thereby lengthening and shortening the door rods110,- and said stems are provided with a series of holes adapted toreceive a' screw 118, for the accomplishment of this result.

The. bars 99 are made independent ofthe sectors and bolted thereto, sothat they may yield independently in mechanism is provided foroscillating the door operators on their pivots, thereby to open andclose the doors, and said actuatf ing-mechanism is connected with one ofthe door-operators and adapted .to oscillate it,

, on one of the bars 99, or elsewhere,- which receives a pivot-stud 103,to which is con- ,nected one end of a connecting-rod 104, and

the other end of rod ispivotally con- 26 represents the motor-shaft.

case of undue stress exerted upon 'them.. Suitable actuating-' nected bya pin 105, see Fig. 5, to a bearing collar 106, supported upon acrank-pin 107, fixed to an ear 108, extended radially from a disk-member109, which, is bolted or otherwise secured to the under side of a gear47, forming a component part of the actuating-mechanism, and which isadapted to be -rotat'ed,'as will be hereafter described. Upon rotationof said gear, and the consequent revolving of the crank-pin, theconnecting-rod 104: will be reciprocated longitudinally, and the dooroperators moved 'on their pivots to swing the doors outward and inward,said doors moving in one direction upon longitudinal movement of theconnection .rod in one direction, and moving in the other direction uponlongitudinal movement of the connecting rod in the other direction. Thusit will be seen'that upon a half rotation ofthe gear, the doors will bemoved in one direction, and upon the other half rotation thereof thedoors will be moved in the other direction, a complete rotation of thegear resulting in opening and closing the doors.

Thegear 47, or equivalent components of the actuating-mechanism isadapted to be rotatably driven by an electric motor through suitablespeed reducing gearing, which serves as and constitutes an electrical-1yoperated actuating-mechanism for the door operators.

24 represents an electric motor which is supported upon a bracket 25,secured to a suitable'support, inside of the garage, and

The motor directly or indirectly operates a main-shaft 27, mounted insuitable bearings, and disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of theclosed doors, and arranged at one side of the doors, see Fig. 8. On theend of the main-shaft 27, see Fig. 2, remote from the motor, is provideda worm 28, which engages a worm-gear 29, arranged on a vertical shaft30, supported in bearings 31, fixed to a support. A pinion 48 is securedto said shaft 30, which engages the drive gear 4-7.

It-may happen that the doors in opening or closing will meet anobstruction which will restrain or prevent their further movement, henceit is desirable to permit independent movement of the worm-gear on theshaft 30, in such event, to avoid undue strain or breakage of theoperating parts. To this end the worm-gear has a frictional clutchconnection with the shaft 30, here shown as comprising a metallic disk32, fixed upon the shaft 30, above which is loosely arranged theworm-gear 29, and above said wormgear is arranged a disk 33, which isadapted to slide on theshaft but rotate therewith, and between theproximate faces of the disks 32 and 33, and worm-gear there are providedclutch-disks 34. The upper disk 33 is held in clutching operationthrough a spring 35 coiled about the shaft 30, which is adjusted toexert the desired degree of pressure by a nut 36,. threaded upon theupper end of the shaft and held in locking position by a set screw 37.Under undue obstruction of the movement of the doors in eitherdirection, the clutch engagement between the disks 32 and 33 andworm-gear 29, will be overcome, and the worm-gear permitted to moveindependently of the shaft 30, to permit a full operation of the motor,and thus avoid strain or possibility of breaking such parts.

To secure effective coiiperation of the worm and Worm-gear with'minimumfriction, and, at the same time, to avoid excessiv'e noise of the gears,I prefer to employ on the support an oil or grease receptacle 38 in theform of a substantial open cylindrical body surrounding the gear andhaving an offset portion 39 inclosing the worm.

' The base of the oil receptacle is formed with a hub 40, encircling theshaft and between which and the shaft is arranged a thrust bearing 41for supporting the lower clutch disk 32, and thereby the shaft. From therelatively outer portion, the bottom of the oil receptacle inclinesdownwardly toward the hub and the inner portion thereof is similarlyinclined so that the offset portion of the oil receptacle is beneaththat part of the gear and the worm 28. By this means the oil is directedto the worm by gravity and consequently the worm-gear and worm iseffectively lubricated, as long 'as there is lubricant within thereceptacle. To properly lubricate the thrust-bearing and thereby theshaft 30 in its bearing, said shaft is formed with a verticallyextending channel 42 and lateral'opening 43 leading to thethrust-bearing, the upper end of the channel being enlarged and arrangedto receive an oil cup 44 to maintain a supply of oil to thethrust-bearing.

That portion of the supporting shaft 46, for the driving-gear 47, abovethe bearing 45, for said shaft, is provided with a thrustbearing 49, andsecured upon the shaft above the bearing is acam-member 50, having acam-portion 51, with diametrically opposed depressions 52. A brake-arm53, is pivotally supported at 54 on the main support, and the under sideof the free end of said am has a brake shoe 55, adapted to cooperatewith the brake disk 56, secured upon,

the main shaft 27. .The free terminal of the arm 53 is adapted to rideupon the camportion 51, the normal or housed parts of said cam-portionsenving to support the brake-shoe free from contact with the brake disk,the depressions 52 in the cam-portion serving to permit a downwardmovement of the arm and permitting operation between the shoe 55 and thedisk 56. The depresholes formed in the other head. This permits alimited independent longitudinal;

play of the several portions of the shaft beyond the motor, with theeflect to compensate for irregularity, and prevent binding actionparticularly between the worm and worm-gear.

The operating-circuit of the motor, as

here shown, includes circuit wires 60, 61., leading, respectively, fromopposite sides of any suitable souroe'of electrical energy, the circuitwire 60 extending to one side of the motor, and the circuit wire 61having arranged therein in series multiple a plurality of circuitcontrollers, and also an automatic switch extending to the other side ofthe motor.

The circuit controllers are adapted for manual operation and theautomatic switch is associated with the motor and adapted to beoperatedby it at the end of a dooroperating movement.

The automatic switch comprises a pair of contact arms 62, 63, the arm 62being adapted to engage the arm 63, and said arms being connected bycircuit wires with the motor.

The arms 62, 63, are resilient and are arranged in slots 64, 65, formedin an insulated block 66 secured to an offset portion 67 of the bearing31 for the shaft 30, and said arms extend toward the gear 47 and intothe path of movementof projections 69, of an insulated disk member 68,which is secured to the hub of said gear 47. At predetermined times inthe rotation of the disk-member; that is, when said disk-member has beenturned to a position to open or close the doors, one of said projectionsof the insulating disk-member. will pass between the arms 62, 63,thereby interrupting the circuit and stopping the motor. At such time,the cam will operate the brake to prevent further .or overrunning of themotor.

The transverse dimensions of the arms 62,

63, is slightly greaterthan the depth of the slots 65, and of block 66,and a clamping plate 72 isdesigned to be secured to the outer surface ofthe block 66, to bear upon the projecting portions of said arms and se-'nally, and hence the exact point at which the motor circuit is openedmay be determined, thus providing for an adjustable control for themotor, so that the doors may be fully opened and fully closed.

The several circuit controllers are adapted to close the motor circuitto start the motor, and one such circuit controller is adapted to bearranged on a post at the side of the drive-way leading to the garage,Within convenient reach of the driver of a machine, so that when desiredto enter the garage, he may stop at the post and operate said circuitcontroller and cause the doors to open,

or when leaving with the car, he may stop at the post and operate saidcircuit controller and cause the doors to close. To avoid this circuitcontroller being operated by michievous persons, it is adapted foroperation by a suitable key. Said circuit controller, as here shown,(see Figs. 16, 17, and

18) comprises essentially a pair of resilientcontact .arms 7 6, 77,which are circularly formed and attached at one end, their other endsoverlapping one another, and normally held out of engagement with eachother by suitable means to be described, and adapted for engagement witheach other when permitted. These contact arms are supported by aninsulated support 7 8 secured to a metal support 79. To normally holdthe contact arms out of engagement, a rotatable member is providedconsisting of a disk 82 having an insulated projection 83 arranged withrespect to the circularly formed contact arms to bemoved to a positionbetween the free end-portions thereof to separate them and to be movedout of such position to permit them to engage each other. Such positionsof the rotatable member are determined by pins 86, 86, arranged thereonand adapted for engagement with the side edges ofa support 85, which isespecially provided for said rotatable member, and which is secured tothe insulated plate or support 78. These parts all being securedtogether constitute a unit which is adapted to-be placed in acylindrical case 80 adapted to be arranged on the post. There isprovided in the case a lock of the Yale or other type, having a barrel90 with aflat plate 91 projecting from its inner end which passesthrough holes in the supports i9, and 78 and enters a hole in therotatable member 82 by which to turn said member to move its in--,sulating projection into and out of engage-'- ment with the contactarms. The insertion of the key and the rotative movement thereof thusoperates to turn the rotatable member 82. It is important that the keyshall not be withdrawn until the rotatable member has been restored tonormal position, and the locking-means above described provide for theturning of the key only a short distance, thus admitting of its returnto nor- 'to the inside of the door.

mal to permit of its withdrawal. The circuit will be closed by a turningmovement of the key in one direction, and will be held closed until thekey has been turned backward to normal position.

Also for the purpose of starting the motor from diiferent locationsthere may be a circuit-controller 93 located in the garage, and adaptedto control the motor circuit, and there may be anothercircuit-controller 95 located in the house of the owner likewise adaptedto control .the motor-circuit, and these circuit-controllers may be ofany wellknown or suitable construction adapted to close the circuit bymanual operation and to hold the circuit closed at such point while heldmanually, until the circuit is closed by the action of the motor,through the medium of the spring arms 62, 63, and to open the circuit atsuch point when manual pressure is relieved.

With operating mechanism of this type, it is sometimes desirable, ornecessary, in the event of failure of the current supply, to operate thedoors by hand, and, in such case, to avoid the necessity of actuatingthe door operators and mechanism connected therewith by such handmovement of the doors, the present invention contemplates means wherebythe door operators may be separately disconnected from the doors, sothat the doors may be moved by hand in the usual manner. Tothis end,there is secured to each door means for withdrawing the pintle 115 ofthe hinge member of the door operators connected therewith, and, as hereshown, a vertical rod 121, see Fig. 10, forms an extension of the pintle115, which is made of considerable length, and at its lower end extendsthrough a guide-sleeve 122, see Figs. 11 to 13, arranged in a casing123, secured Within the guide sleeve said rod 121, is formed to providea rack 124, which is engaged by a pinion 125, keyed upon the reduced endof a shaft 126, mounted in a bearing in the door. The'shaft 126 isprovided with operating means by which it is rotated to in turn movethe. rod 121 longitudinally, and move the pintleout of or into engagingposition. The operating means on one door will be arranged on the 1outside, and on the other door will be arranged on the inside,and ifdesired they may be made alike, but in any event the outsideoperating-means will be key controlled, in which event the shaft 126 isarranged in an annular casing-127, which is enlarged in the form of abarrel 128, see Fig. 13 A locking bolt 129 is arranged for transversemovement in the barrel, it being adapted, in locked position, toengage-a notch 130, in the casing to provide rotative movement of thebarrel, and hence prevent operation of the shaft 126. The barrel 128 isextended beyond the casing and provided with an op from lookingcooperation with the casing and permit operation of the shaft by turningthe knob. It is not deemed necessary to provide a key-controlled lockfor the inside operating means, hence in such instance, the barrel 128may be free in the casing 127,

adapting it to be operated at will by the knob.

When the pintle 115 is withdrawn, the extremity of the connectin -rod110 will be disconnected from the hinge-member 116, and when the door isopened said extremity will be left unsupported, unless means areprovided for supporting it at such time. Therefore, as here shown, abracket 136 is secured to a support at the top of the door, having alaterally extended pin 137, arranged in parallel relation with theconnect ing-rod 110 and extended in a direction toward the door, andsaid pin is adapted ,to enter a hole in an ear 138, arranged on top ofthe hinge-connector 114, when the door is in closed position, and to suport the extremity of the connecting rod wh withdrawn and the door isopened. Furthermore, it will be noted that the adjacent faces of theears of the hinge-member 116 are, or may be, beveled to admit of theeasy entrance therebetween of the hinge-connector, when the door is,moved into closed position. v

In case the pintle is not withdrawn and the door is opened,-thehinge-connector will en the pintle isslide along on the pin 137, anddisengage said pin, but will be subsequently returned into engagementwith the pin when the door is closed.

It is obvious that a single door may be operated by substantially thesame means and insubstantially the same manner as are the double doorshere shown, and, therefore,

- both types come within the scope of my invention; and furthermore, thedoor or doors may be arranged to slide instead of to swing, as both suchtypes are common.

I claim 1. A door-operating mechanism comprising door operatorsconnected with the doors, actuating-mechanism therefor including amotor, means adapted for controlling said motor from aremote point, thedoor-operat- I ing mechanism being detachably connected j with thedoors, permitting said doors to be swung by hand when disconnected fromthe.

operating mechanism.

' 2. In a door operating operators connected with the doors, actuatingmechanism therefor including. an electric motor, a pair of contactsarranged in the motor circuit for the control thereof, and an insulatingblock carried by the actuating mechanism arranged to be rotatedbetweensaid contacts'in predetermined positlons of the doors and to be rotatedin the same direction from between said contacts.

mechanism, door i In testimony whereof I have'signed my name to thisspecification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: B. J. Noms,

H. B. DAVIS.

STERLING ELLIOTT, I

